Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Drifting Away
by Tikki303
Summary: When a dangerous disease threatens the entire Ice Continent, a single human and her two new friends have to forge a path together through frozen mountains, darkened woods, and sweltering savannas to uncover the truth about the powerful drift, and who- or what- is behind it.
1. Prologue

I feel the cold air clinging to my lungs, the frozen earth beneath me, keeping me from the warm embrace of death with its powerful soil.

Is this all that was meant for me? To die? In my life, was there ever- . . . Was there ever any hope for me to cling to at all? . . .

. . .

Where is everyone I ever knew?

If I were to die here, would they know?

. . .

I pull my hand out from under me, its bones brutally shattered by the fall. I cling helplessly to the dirt in front of me, clawing out for my life.

I roll over with the last of my strength, staring up at the unforgiving blackness of the night sky. The stars that bore me and watched over my life- they stare at me. . . bearing down upon me. Disappointed.

I feel my breath beginning to escape from me, each time coming back lesser and lesser, the adrenaline rushing to my head, the blood turning me hotter than a furnace.

I don't want it to end like this. This isn't fair. If I must die, must I die alone?

Please, help me. This isn't what I wanted.

Don't let it end this way.

Nona. . . please, help me. I don't want this to be the end. This world needs you. I need you.


	2. Chapter One: The Giant Emerges

Nona felt a cold breeze brush over her skin, making her feel strangely bare, yet still not wholly cold, as if she were kept warm by an invisible coat.

Light stung at her eyelids, which opened to reveal a gloomy sky above her, draped with a blanket of grey clouds, with sunlight being only a faint, dreary glow somewhere in the mass of white. She lifted her hand to shield her eyes, and she felt her body for the first time since she woke up. It was frozen and numbed by the cold surface beneath her.

Her whole body was numb- her hands being the only thing that she could really feel. It must have been for the best, though. Her hands stung with thousands of invisible wounds, each caused by the freezing air whipping around them.

Nona lay face up on the ground, unsure of how she got there. All she did know was that wherever she was now- it was cold, really cold.

Lifting herself up to peer at the world around her, her eyes were met with a sprawling body of water on all sides of her, a frozen lake lined with bright green trees of pine, partly sprinkled with snow, protecting the pine needle brush beneath them. Nona's gaze drifted downwards, and her eyes followed the line of a deep crack in the ice, meeting up with another as it grew closer and closer to her. Hundreds of cracks spiderwebbed from the main vein; the ice beneath her was just short of shattering under her weight, and with each slight turn, it whined and squealed with the effort of staying in one piece.

Where am I? Nona thought to herself, panic turning her nerves hard as packed ice. Her fretting consciousness blew through all of the memories she had, asking her question over and over again: how did she get here? And where was here?

There was nothing, no memory of how she had gotten there, but no memory of where she was either, or. . . now that she thought about it, no memories of where she lived, of who she was, or even what she was doing before she fell unconscious there.

Fear pumped through her body, making her shake more feverishly. The terror made her even more aware of how much her back and rump stung, the last bit of heat they may have stored being sucked out into the icy pond below.

Without opening her eyes, Nona raised herself into a kneel. Why does my head feel so heavy? With a deep breath, she tried to stand. Her legs felt like rubber as she struggled to keep her balance, swinging her arms out at her sides. It wasn't enough though.

Nona tumbled forward, her body slamming hard against the ice below. Water trickled out from the cracks around her as the ice around her depressed from the impact.

Through her panic, Nona managed to turn her head to look down at the feet that had just betrayed her, her face going white as a ghost when instead of a pair of human legs, Nona saw a pair of blue hind legs that looked more akin to that of an animal. She turned forward once more. Her hands, or what she thought would be her hands, were replaced with blue legs as well.

Something was drooping down into her vision from just above her. She saw that it was a light blue. . . fin? She reached up her front leg, finding that its digits were able to be bent as she prodded the fin hanging into her vision. Was it hers? It must have been hers- not like there would be many fish around on the top of a frozen pond.

The ice on her belly was just starting to sting, and she rolled over slowly onto her back, rubbing her front with her front legs to try to warm it up.

Daring another look down, Nona lifted her head up, and this time spotted a fin-like tail protruding from her rump. Somehow, her body knew how to control it, and she flicked it side to side, testing her foreign appendage.

This was wrong. This was so wrong. This was the body of a Mudkip, and Nona wasn't a Mudkip- She was a human! That was the one thing she was sure of amongst all of the things her mind had discarded, she was not a pokemon.

The Mudkip's breath began to grow short, panting in and out, the cold air stinging her throat. Her heart was a drum thundering in her chest, her eyes a darkening tunnel as the panic teased out tears.

Hold it together, Nona. I know that, right? My name- It's Nona. I know that I was a human named Nona. I'm sure of it. Her mind, though still an avalanche of doubt and fear, was calmed when she heard her name. In all of her confusion, there was something she could be sure of. It was the best solace she could find.

Her name and who she was was something that was hers- something that her amnesia wasn't able to take away.

Rolling back onto her belly, Nona slid all four of her limbs beneath her, feeling the ice slide across her smooth amphibian skin as she felt the power beneath them. In one quick movement, Nona was standing up, this time on all four of her feet.

Now she was getting somewhere. Feeling her four feet beneath her, no matter how foreign, was grounding, soothing. Nona squeezed her eyes shut and tried not to imagine just how flimsy the surface beneath her was.

The water type's mind was already beginning to swim hundreds of different ways she could find a way to reach shore. She was a water pokemon- and water pokemon could swim, right? Maybe, but in this temperature, the water would no doubt send her into shock.

Ugh, no that won't work-

The ice beneath her cracked once more, and she could feel the space beneath her feet shift under her weight and body heat, the frozen mass squealing under the stress. Whatever she did, she would have to do it soon.

Could she walk across? Maybe if her steps were light enough-

squeak-

CRACK

Her back right foot plunged into the icy water, sending a shock up into the rest of her body like she had been stabbed with a live wire. Nona held her composure, slowly bringing it out of the water and placing it slightly forward, her teeth gritting together with the pain.

That definitely wouldn't be happening. If the Mudkip's weight was enough to break through just by standing, walking would prove to be one way ticket into the freezing water. If she was going to be getting out of here, she wouldn't be able to do it alone.

Lost and without any other options, she raised her head into the air and screamed for help.

"Do you have the delivery?"

"Mhm! I grabbed it just before we left the house. I got an oran berry in here somewhere. . ."

Ronan shoved is hand into the bag slung over his shoulder, pushing around too vigorously and sending a yellow and black doll falling down onto the ground below.

Cinder turned to him, a look of disapproval on her face.

"You brought your toys with you again?" She tapped her foot.

"Well, yeah, I thought that maybe we would have time to play when we were done with work! I thought you could be Charizard this time! Since I know I took her yesterday. . ."

Ronan knelt down and carefully placed his soft, fabric Ampharos back in his bag, nestling the Wandering Adventurer carefully next to his Charizard doll before giving him a little pat on the head.

The Cyndaquil sighed. "I would love to play with you when we get home, but you can't bring your toys with you on deliveries. Don't you remember last week when you lost your Grovyle when we were making that delivery for Thatcher?"

"Yeah. . . I remember. . ." The Cubone let his head hang as his hands fiddled with his club.

The air went silent for a few moments, as Cinder took a deep breath. She knew how much her brother liked having his dolls with him, especially when they had to go out and work, but Cinder also knew that he definitely wouldn't like it if he lost any of them, perhaps even for good.

"I'm sorry, Ronan, but I just want to make sure that you don't lose 'em. Charizard's your favorite, right? You don't wanna lose her, do you?" The duo stopped walking. Cinder placed her hands on her younger brother's shoulders and leaned a bit forward to try to try to meet his eye.

Ronan shook his head, allowing it to hang for a few seconds more before lifting it quickly to meet the Cyndaquil's gaze. "But we can still play when we get home, right?"

"You kidding? Of course," Cinder chuckled, pulling Ronan into a brief hug, "now we should really get that delivery done. I wanna hear about how Charizard does in his battle against- . . . Wait, hold on, do you hear that?"

Ronan looked up and squinted into the pine trees surrounding them. "Hear what?"

"Shh- just listen."

Sure enough, a noise danced through the trees. It was incredibly faint, almost inaudible. To Ronan, it almost sounded like a bird call, or just the whistle of the wind, but to Cinder, she heard something much more troubling- a cry for help.

Cinder turned back to her brother, a look of urgency on her face."You hear that don't you?"

"Hear what? That bird?"

"What? No- it's not a bird. It's someone calling for help!"

Ronan's eyes went wide, his head turning around even quicker now, desperately trying to see the source of the crying.

"Do you think someone's in trouble? Do you think they might-"

Before Cinder could finish speaking, Ronan grabbed her arm, dragging her into the woods in the direction that he thought he heard the sound.

The group ran through the woods, brushing aside low hanging branches of pine needles and ignoring the poking of the pine needles beneath their feet. Eventually, they reached a clearing in the woods, split apart by a small pond, seemingly just feeling the beginning of the winter's freeze, as it was topped with a crown of ice.

Cinder was the first to notice the cracking, her eyes tracing along a deep gash until she saw it- a pokemon standing at the center of the squealing deathtrap, raising its head up and crying out hoarsely for anyone who would listen, desperate for a savior.

"Hey! Are you alright?"

A voice called to Nona from the shore, a Cyndaquil, with a Cubone standing in front of them, a look of genuine concern evident behind his skull

Nona shook her head vigorously. Her voice refused to work. She set aside the confusion of how other pokemon were talking to her- she would gladly address that when he life wasn't in immediate danger.

Ronan threw down his bag and bone club, lowering himself into a sprint towards the frozen pond, but just as his foot was about to fall down upon the frail ice below, Cinder's benevolent grip wrapped itself around his arm, pulling him back and out of danger.

"You can't just run out there, Ronan! Look at the ice! A single wrong step, and you'd be sleeping with the Barboach!" Though she scolded him, she wrapped her other arm around him, bringing her younger brother into a partial hug.

Ronan pulled himself free from her grasp and ran to the edge of the water, standing at the bank and staring off at the pokemon in need.

"Well what are we gonna do then? She could fall in any minute!"

Cinder put her hands on her head and stared off into the snow below, wracking her brain for any means of rescue. The pokemon was in danger, and she knew that her hesitance was dangerous, but she couldn't bring herself to move.

Ronan looked at her, disappointment choking up the back of his throat. This pokemon was in danger, and Cinder was nailed to the spot by fear. He wanted to help her, to hold her and tell her that it was ok, to slowly guide her out of the pit she had dug herself in, but time was of the essence, and every moment he spent on that shore was another moment closer the Mudkip was to falling into the ice cold water.

"S-Screw it! I'm on my way!" Ronan bellowed, walking backwards away from the water, preparing himself to make a mad dash for the center. He bolted, his feet pounding on the frozen dirt beneath him, his heart beating furiously with adrenaline and fear.

Then he saw it.

His dug his heels into the ground, paralyzed with fear as his eyes were glued to the other side of the pond.

At the opposite bank, towering dozens of feet above them, stood an Abomasnow, but Ronan knew that it wasn't just any Abomasnow. The beast's eyes were glazed over and empty, a burning red furnace as bright and as terrifying as a wildfire, its face glowing a sickening hue of purple, its expression slack jawed and mindless as its eyes focused only on its prey, the Mudkip.

"Cinder!" Ronan's voice cracked.

The Cyndaquil raised her head, her face turning white as her head turned upwards to see the lumbering mass of ice and pine.

"N-No, not now. . . No! Ronan, it has the drift- It'll kill her!"

The Abomasnow slowly raised its head, howling up to the clouds above and summoning a suffocating snowfall- Snow warning. Now, with its eyes fully set on the Mudkip, it stomped forward onto the ice, its legs crushing the thin layer and sinking into the water below with no trouble, sending thousands of sprawling cracks over the ice, each one threatening to shatter, sending her plummeting into the inky black abyss beneath her.

Nona turned to the other two pokemon, tears of fear pulling at the edge of her eyes. She cried out, but her voice betrayed her, coming out as only a squeaking, crackly squeal rather than a cry for help.

Each second, the monster grew closer, shoving ice out of its way without a second thought as to the consequence, each step pushing the sheet of ice Nona was precariously placed on back and forth, leaving her helpless to the shifting mass beneath her, her only option to wait for her doom to arrive in its icy form to crush her into the waters below.

In that moment, all Nona could feel was her thundering heart, her pained breath, and her frozen feet as she was left with the horrifying thought that this was where her life would end.


	3. Chapter Two: The Ice Shatters

Her eyes squeezed shut- her teeth gritted. This was the end. She knew it was. She had just been turned to a pokemon, and she would be dead in the water, no answers, no one to remember who she was, no one to think of in her last moments. This isn't fair.

The beast lifted its foot high up into the air. She could hear the ice breaking off from its leg and splashing into the water. The shadow of the Abomasnow's raised foot fell upon her. She could feel the cold water lapping at her feet, draining into her little indent  
and splashing painfully up onto her underbelly.

Abomasnow roared and brought down its foot. Nona gulped.

Before she knew it, she heard the crunch of ice, the spray of water, the cry of the beast, but she was still alive, hearing the noise slowly get further and further away as the light returned to her eyelids. The Mudkip opened her eyes and saw she shore getting closer and closer to her, or rather, she was getting closer to the shore.

Nona looked up to see a large bluish purple creature wrapping its arms around her underbelly, carrying her through the air as it flew. Just as she recognized them as a Gengar, they looked down at her and gave her a meek, yet reassuring smile.

"S-Sorry to grab you like that- um, are you okay?" The Gengar asked, setting Nona down gently on the floor of pine needles at the bank.

Nona simply nodded. She wanted to tell them how grateful she was, but terror still held her voice hostage.

Gengar smiled and turned back towards the Abomasnow. The beast was staring at them, partly in anger and partly in confusion. Its prey had just been pulled out right from under its nose, and it did not take well to being stolen from. It roared once more, its powerful lungs blowing out a blizzard of ice and snow heading straight for Nona and Gengar, enough to easily knock out a weak Mudkip such as Nona.

Just as it was about to strike, the wind was split, sending chunks of ice and sleet ricocheting off to the side, spraying the once untouched snow around the two pokemon. Once the powdered snow had cleared, Nona looked up and saw Gengar floating a few feet in front of her, their arms outstretched and a sea-blue forcefield sprawling out what looked to be twelve feet wide. It was easily recognizable to her as protect despite her amnesia.

Raising its head again, Abomasnow drew in another large breath, preparing to blast them once more. It lowered its head to roar, but its cry was interrupted when a ball of fire blasted out through the woods, careening into the Abomasnow's gut. The beast fell backwards with the weight of a skyscraper, splashing down and sending a wall of water and ice chunks into the air behind it.

In the air where the Abomasnow once stood moments before, a Blaziken was falling towards the ice. In sending out his powerful kick, he had put himself in a vulnerable spot and was plummeting towards the freezing water. Despite this, the Blaziken didn't look afraid- he stared hungrily down at the Abomasnow, fire in his eyes- as if all he wanted to do was strike it again.

Just as he was about to land, a powerful gust of wind blew up from beneath him, sending him twirling in an arc through the air, which ended with him rolling to a stop on the pond's shore, a few meters away from Nona and Gengar.

Her eyes wide with amazement, Nona turned back to the water to see another pokemon running on top of the ice, a Shiftry with her mane tied behind her head in a ponytail. With a steely and unfeeling expression, she gracefully danced upon the shattered ice, her light steps only slightly disturbing it as she ran. Nona quickly realized that the blast of wind had come from her. The Shiftry had brought her fans together to send a gust of wind that Blaziken could ride to shore on.

The mysterious grass pokemon sprinted to shore, landing with a flip onto solid ground next to Blaziken. The fire pokemon turned to her and nodded approvingly.

As the group landed together on the shore, the blizzard grew more powerful, covering the Abomsnow completely before fading a few moments later. Where the fallen giant had once laid, there was nothing but a gaping hole in the ice, its path of escape nowhere to be seen as the blizzard upturned any and all snow tracks it may have left. It was gone.

"Dammit!" The Blaziken swore, kicking at the ground and sending chunks of dirt flying, "fucker got away!"

Gengar raised their hand to try to comfort Blaziken, but quickly put it back down again, instead lowering himself down to tend to Nona.

"Hey, are you alright?" The Gengar asked. Their anxious eyes darted over Nona's body.

Nona whimpered, nodding her head. She tried to speak her thanks, but her voice was still too weak to make anything more than a squeak. A gentle "thanks" was all she could squeeze out, though she tried her best to make it show her gratitude.

Shiftry raised an eyebrow. "Thank you for your gratitude. You're alright, and that's what matters." Her voice was flat and indifferent.

Blaziken grumbled something inaudible under his breath. Nona could see him pacing, fire smouldering on his arm bands as anger welled up inside of him. She turned back to look at the indent that was left in the ice. Whatever they were doing here, she assumed it had something to do with the Abomasnow's presence.

"Mudkip!"

Cinder and Ronan ran along the side of the pond towards the group, Ronan's bag flapping in the wind behind him.

"Mudkip, we're so glad you're alright!" Ronan panted, "we got so scared when the Abomasnow showed up! We're so glad that these guys came to-"

The Cubone looked up at the trio of rescuers, his face growing whiter with each second he held eye contact. He turned back to his sister, who shared the same expression, one of fear. Whatever they were afraid of, Nona couldn't see it, but her heart began to pound regardless.

Cinder spoke up. "W-Well, at least now that you're on solid ground, we can introduce ourselves. I'm Cinder-"

"Hey, don't you guys have some mail to deliver or something?" Blaziken jeered, swaggering forward and leaning down to get in Cinder's face, "wouldn't want you guys to be late for whatever job you gotta get done, would ya?"

Cinder gulped, grabbing Ronan's arm tightly.

The Cyndaquil's eyes met her brother's, fear beginning to boil in her stomach as Blaziken's gaze bore a hole through her. "We should go" was all she could muster.

Ronan looked at her with horror. Was she really going to leave this Mudkip behind? He wanted to argue, but her hushed tone and fearful gaze was enough to bid him to let it go. Cinder looked terrified, like she wanted to be anywhere but here.

"T-Thank you," Nona breathed, "for trying to save me, I mean."

The Cubone beamed with pride, pulling his sister forward as well.

"Don't mention it! It's what heroes do!"

Blaziken snickered, swinging his leg down gently to idly kick at the dirt. "Yeah, sure, a hero would definitely stand at the edge of a pond and cry. I'm sure you guys would make a great rescue team one day!"

Cinder deflated, pulling her brother even closer, her grip on his arm starting to sting. Ronan felt his confidence waver for a moment before he resumed his cheery expression.

"W-Well, uh, you can call me Ronan!" The Cubone held up his bone club next to Nona and gave her an expecting look.

The Mudkip felt a strange awkwardness from how quickly the Cubone shrugged off Blaziken's comment, and it only swelled when she was met with the large club being held in front of her face. She put her hand against it, unsure of what to do, and the Cubone just laughed and shrugged. Whatever she did, it probably wasn't what she was supposed to do, but it worked anyway.

"And this-" Ronan pulled himself away from his sister, allowing her to stand alone, "-is Cinder. She's my sister!"

Cinder met eyes with Nona, but the Cyndaquil didn't smile, only giving a small wave. Nona tilted her head, unsure of why they were acting so strangely, but she wasn't able to dwell on it much before Blaziken stepped forward.

He slicked back his mane and crouched down next to Nona, obviously trying to appear friendly. "My name's Crasher, but you can call me Blaziken. That ghost over there is Gengar, but he doesn't like people knowin' his real name."  
Gengar waved, a hint of dark purple blush on his cheeks.

"And she's Shiftry- come to think of it, she's not a big fan of people knowing her name either," Blaziken laughed, elbowing Nona enough to make Nona flinch. Shiftry hardly reacted, looking over Nona with a guarded expression and nodding.

The fiery pokemon stood up, stepping back to form a sort of formation with his teammates that Nona assumed was their regular marching order. "And we're Team Eviscerate- we hunt bad guys like that Abomasnow back there. We were- heh- just about to catch him until we ended up finding you there." Nona felt a hint of annoyance in his laugh.

"It's water under the bridge though. You know, the reason I bring it up is because we were about to keep going with our hunt after we camped for the night, and we were wondering if you'd be interested in traveling with us?"

Nona blinked a few times, trying to process what they were asking her. Follow them? This group of absolute strangers? She could feel there was something off about them, perhaps something she wasn't seeing, which angered her to no end, and yet- they did save her. They did rescue her from certain death. If they wanted her gone, they would have left her there, and if they wanted something from her, she could only assume they would have asked it of her, since she owed them her life.

"Why?" Was all she could come to ask.

Gengar interrupted, floating forward. "Well, um, you see, you're all alone out here, I assume, and we just don't want you to be left in the cold without help, you know?- Once you're done, we could always just take you back home- wherever that may be."

Nona thought about it, keeping her eyes trained on Blaziken, who inhaled deeply, not looking too happy with being talked over, even if it was from his own team member.

As strange as the request was, what other choice did she have? She was out in the middle of nowhere, no memories, no one who knew her, just her name and the fact that she definitely was not a Mudkip. As much as she didn't want to be going off alone with a group of people- er- pokemon she didn't know, she didn't want to be alone and at risk of that Abomasnow coming back either.

She nodded, though when she did, she still couldn't shake the feeling that it was a bad idea. Nona stepped cautiously past Team Eviscerate to stand before the other two rescuers, who still appeared to be cowering back.

"Thanks again," Nona whispered, bowing her head in gratitude, the only way she knew how to in her new quadrupedal body.

Ronan chuckled, a bit of a blush being visible through the eyeholes of his skull. "Don't mention it, Mudkip. Just glad you're safe."

"Y-Yeah," Cinder stuttered, mustering the best smile she could as she began to straighten her back.

Nona let a smile linger on her face as she walked back to resume her spot with Team Eviscerate. With a triumphant look back at the siblings, Blaziken turned and guided the group into the woods, the line order being Blaziken, Gengar, Nona, and Shiftry, with Blaziken taking the lead.

The group walked for a few minutes, most of which were spent with Shiftry splitting off from the group to search for a suitable camping ground. Gengar, all the while, was trying to spark up whatever conversation he could, though most of it was short, as Nona wasn't able to speak anything more than a few words at a time.

That was the one thing Nona hadn't thought of now that she had lost her memories, the fact that she didn't have a voice either. When she was out on the ice, she always assumed it was fear choking up her throat, but even now, she felt almost completely mute, her throat becoming raspy and scratchy whenever she tried to speak. It didn't take a genius for her to realize that this was more than just a temporary thing. She was partially mute.

"Here." Shiftry whistled, standing a few meters in front of the team and pointing a fan towards a clearing in the pine trees, mostly free of pine needles, with a great view of the pinkish sky above, blushing with the setting of the sun.

Blaziken ran up to meet her, taking a moment to inspect the area before grinning in agreement. Without another word, he opened his mouth and released a stream of fire, scorching a small patch of dirt in the center of the clearing and making Nona jump.

Shiftry grabbed his shoulder. "We make a firepit before we make the fire, Crasher- what, do you pour your soup before you get the bowl? Honestly. . ." the grass pokemon scolded, walking into the center of the clearing and brushing away the sand, pine needles- and now ash- away from their soon-to-be camp.

"They'll prepare camp for us in a bit," Gengar said, rubbing the fur behind his head sheepishly.

Nona saw that Crasher mostly ignored Shiftry's scolding, instead going to begrudgingly pull out a large sheet from the bag slung over his shoulder and throwing it over a jutted out branch to make a makeshift tent. The entire time he did, he taunted Shiftry, telling her that she was setting up the firepit too slowly, and she only ignored him, continuing her work as if he had said nothing at all.

Before they knew it, the camp was set up, and Crasher was finally able to unleash his flamethrower, this time on a prepared fire pit with actual kindling and wood rather than just indiscriminately blasting pine needles. Nona snuggled up close to the now roaring fire, enough for her face to sting a bit with the heat. As it grew, she could slowly tell that the feeling was coming back into her legs, lost earlier to the freezing water. It felt amazing to finally be warm again, and she found herself enacting her first pokemon mannerism that day by wrapping herself into a ball and allowing her legs to jut out, warming themselves against the crackling warmth of the fire.

After finally having finished the camp, Shiftry excused herself, jumping from tree trunk to tree trunk, eventually finding herself a comfortable spot in the center of a pine tree's height nearby. Nona figured that since she acted as a sort of scout earlier, she must have been the lookout too. Crasher was content with lying down in his tent. In minutes, he was already snoring, or at least, that's what Nona thought it sounded like.

"Are you feeling comfortable?" Gengar whispered, walking on all fours to sit down next to Nona. He grinned at her, which seemed to be a regular expression for a pokemon of his species.

Nona nodded, sighing gratefully as she felt the tips of her toes sting slightly in the heat, but she didn't care.

"You remember what Crasher said earlier about us hunting bad guys, right?"

Turning away from her comfortable activity, Nona nodded once more, this time a bit slower. What was he trying to tell her about?

"Well," Gengar began, straightening himself into a cross-legged sit, "that's kind of our job. I mean, you never really asked, so I just assumed you didn't know- but we're hunters. We track down outlaws and, uh. . . we catch 'em."

Nona rolled over fully, facing her entire body towards the ghost type, her eyes squinting in curiosity. "Catch?"

Gengar hummed. "Mhm, we arrest them, and then we get paid for it."

"Well. . . why is it that you were sent to apprehend Abomasnow? What did they do?" Nona asked, tilting her head to the side, allowing it to rest on the ground warmed by the fire.

"Doesn't really matter why." Shiftry's voice interrupted the conversation, echoing through the clearing with cold and unfeeling inflection.

Nona turned back towards the fire, seeing Shiftry's body still up in the tree through the flames. The grass type was laying on a branch, her back resting against its trunk.

Shiftry tilted her head towards the dimming sky. "People pay us to apprehend outlaws, and we don't ask questions. There isn't a reason that we care about for why we do what we do. All we care about is the paycheck."

"-Well, that doesn't mean that the outlaws we catch don't deserve it!" Gengar sputtered, "that Abomasnow was trying to hurt you. They're a bad pokemon- they deserve to be caught."

That made sense to Nona. if there was a maddened Abomasnow out and about, she would certainly want it gone, but why wouldn't they ask questions? Was it that they cared that little about their work?

She wanted to ask more questions, but her throat was starting to hurt. Speaking as much as she did was starting to do a number on her, and she couldn't keep getting her questions out comfortably. Lucky for her, Shiftry, in her boredom seemed to have no problem continuing to explain things to her.

"Pokemon give us jobs to hunt down other pokemon, we turn them into the law, and then we get the money. There's a pretty big bounty on this Abomasnow's head, even before he turned into a Drifter. . ." Shiftry explained.

Drifter. The word was familiar to Nona. She had heard the Cyndaquil from earlier say something similar, saying that the Abomasnow had something called "the Drift", and she assumed they had something to do with each other.

"We've been hunting this Abomasnow for a week now." Shiftry leapt off of her perch, landing silently on the packed dirt below. She stood tall on the side of the fire opposite to Nona. "They're elusive things for the most part. Have you ever met one before today?"

Nona shook her head. Perhaps she did at one point, but she couldn't be sure.

"Well, they're hard to track. Wherever they go, they strike up a blizzard, masking themselves in a blanket of hail and snow. Using the trees on their backs, they lower themselves into the snow to hide from pursuers like us. It makes them incredibly hard to hunt." Shiftry swiped her fans against each other. "Not hard enough though. I'll find it soon."

The Shiftry's display was certainly intimidating, but it didn't appear to be directed at Nona, or anyone in particular.

"Have you tried bait?" Nona asked.

Shiftry turned to her, locking eyes for a moment before shaking her head. "Abomasnow photosynthesize, which is when they let down their blizzards. They don't care for bait. The only time they do eat is if there's any easy prey they can freeze and pick off, which is why it wanted to reach you."

"It's growing desperate. We've been hunting it for so long that it hasn't felt safe enough to lower its blizzard and photosynthesize. It's beginning to starve, and in its hunger, it's become willing to attack and eat other, smaller pokemon," Shiftry explained, looking over to Gengar.

"All the more reason why we gotta stop it," Gengar agreed, nodding his head.

Nona went even quieter for another moment, looking between the other two pokemon before she found the strength in her voice to speak. "So bait would work then?"

Now it was the tracker's turn to go silent.

"Well. . . we wouldn't want any pokemon getting hurt, that's all." Gengar paused and shifted on his spot, looking thoughtfully into the fire. "Bait's way too dangerous. You saw how close it got to reaching you back there, and even then it wasn't enough for us to catch it. Letting it get any closer is a risk we aren't willing to take, and I doubt you are either."

"Abomasnow only truly let their guard down enough to strike when they are eating their prey. Their bodies are not suited to eat physical food, so it takes great concentration. Our other bet is to let it starve, which is our plan currently. We can keep the pace well enough, and we can stop at night to avoid it photosynthesizing, only to resume come sunrise. We have it on the ropes."

Nona went silent again, almost feeling like she had been scolded. At the very least, she was even more thankful to be saved. It was clear to her now that if it weren't for Team Eviscerate, she wouldn't have been standing there that night at all.

"Ide, to your post," Crasher snapped from his tent.

Shiftry turned away from the fire, anger evident in her glare and leapt back up into the tree with a gust of wind. Gengar turned back to Nona.

"We should be getting some rest. . . we'll be hunting again tomorrow," Gengar yawned, floating upwards and leaving to find a spot to sleep.

"Wait-" Nona tried to stop him, but her voice was too weak for Gengar to hear, and the ghost type floated off towards the treeline to find a comfortable sleeping spot.

Nona sighed in resignation before deciding to give it a rest and move closer to the fire, which had lost most of its flame, instead leaving the logs to glow a vibrant sunset vermillion. As her eyes slowly began to close, Nona stared up into the sky, now fading into a deep purple and allowed herself to fall into a deep, exhausted sleep.


	4. Chapter Three: The End of the Hunt

Nona gripped tightly to the purplish blue fur she rested on as the wind whipped her face and blew her fin around wildly on top of her head. Before being able to ride in Gengar's grasp, Nona hadn't realized just how fast the pokemon was, blistering through the snowy pine woods around them, with Shiftry and Crasher running ahead of the ghost pokemon and his passenger.

The team had left early that morning after Shiftry woke them all up, reporting that in the night, she had found the Abomasnow's tracks. The team burst into action, rocketing through the path of splintered trees and crushed underbrush in search of their abominable criminal.

"How close are we?" Crasher bellowed, turning momentarily away from the path ahead while he sprinted to talk to Shiftry.

The grass pokemon's eyes went wide as her gaze darted from tree to tree, from footstep to footstep, before finally returning to her leader.

"Not far. The tracks are getting fresher. The beast is not far away," she whispered in an ominous tone.

Nona gulped, and she could feel Gengar's fur begin to bristle as well. Though that could have been because of the cold- the object of their chase had struck up a snowstorm not too long ago, and the snow was still pelting down upon them.

After a few more minutes of chase, the group reached a large clearing where the blizzard was strongest and the tracks ended. It was a hilly area, with a heavy cover of snow that seems to not have been disturbed since it had fallen. What made this so strange was that the tracks ended here, but the Abomasnow was nowhere to be seen.

What? Did it vanish? Nona thought to herself, there aren't even any footprints leading outwards from the clearing. Did it climb up the trees? No, it's too big for that. . . and the snow on the trees is still thick. How could it just vanish twice in a row?-

Shiftry only hummed, her eyes scanning the blank snow for any sign of the beast, eventually falling on nothing as her head turned down to her feet. She let out a small "tsk" in frustration.

"Where did it go?" Nona whispered down to her ride pokemon.

Gengar breathed in sharply. "Well, uh, we don't- we aren't. . . sure."

The way that Gengar spoke was. . .suspicious, with sporratic inflection and a hushed tone. Nona tilted her head, trying to meet the eyes of the ghost, but her place in his hands didn't lend her very much room for turning, and she was only able to get a slight peek at his expression, which was blank, and his cheeks were pale as a ghost.

"Well, we must have lost it, right Crasher? We should go, try again another day. . ." The ghost chuckled. Wait a moment- was his grip growing. . . tighter? Nona could feel the squeeze on her underbelly. What- What is he doing?

Crasher, who up until this point had been staring out into the clearing as well, only smirked. "Yeah, guess we should, eh Gengar?"

The Blaziken strolled over close to Gengar, his eyes trained on the path they were coming from. We're leaving right? Nona thought, sighing in relief- the whole tension of the scenario was beginning to grow too much. Now that she was able to think clearly, what did become of the Abomasnow-

A sharp grip found its place on Nona's head fin, yanking her painfully out of the Gengar's arms. Nona shrieked, her voice cracking in shock and terror as she lost her hold on her own balance. She didn't know what was up and what was down. She felt the grip releasing, sending her up in a small arc. Her eyes squeezed shut.

Before she could understand what had happened to her, she felt a sharp pain in her side, a powerful strike to her body that send her careening higher into the air, her lungs begging for the air that was knocked out of her. The world around her was a white blur, occasionally broken by the bright colors of the rest of her group, neon colored blots on the cloudy canvas of snow. In her spiraling arc, she felt that she was flying- no- falling. She had been launched. As she regained some sort of balance, her eyes fell on Crasher, who looked at her, the familiar fire in his eyes that Nona had seen the day before when he viciously attacked the Abomasnow.

No- not launched- thrown.

The snow shocked her warm body as she landed a few inches deep into the icy blanket. Dazed, she lifted her head, meeting eyes with Gengar. The ghost pokemon could only stare, his eyes still blank, yet a few tears were threatening to break from them. His pupils hid in small stature in the center of his eyes. Shiftry hadn't moved, her vision still pointed at her feet.

Then she saw him, Crasher, bringing his foot down to the ground, sizzling with steam as it scraped across the fresh snow. His eyes were fiery, almost maddened, glinting with bloodlust. He wanted that kick to hurt. But why? Why did he hurt me? What did I do?

Nona heard the sound of cascading snow behind her, and she turned to see that one of the many hills inside of the clearing was moving, shifting, rising. It grew taller and taller, soaring what felt like thousands of feet above Nona's cowering figure. Its head glinted against the faint sunlight of the noon as it shook vigorously, pounds of snow falling off in a similar snowfall down to paint the blank floor of white. Standing above her, in all its terrifying glory, was Abomasnow. Its eyes still glazed and red, its mouth dripping with saliva.

Helpless, Nona turned back to the others, who hadn't stirred. Shiftry had brought up her gaze. Was that sadness in her eyes? Had she known this whole time? Gengar's hands were over his mouth, tears streaming down his cheeks while Crasher was lowering himself into a crouch. He had gotten comfortable. He was waiting for a show.

Her stomach lurched, her voice fleeing entirely as the horrifying realization hit her.

The memory echoed in her mind, Shiftry spoke earlier of the beast's vulnerable state, only truly letting its guard down when it. . . when. . .

When it was devouring its prey.

Adrenaline took over, bidding her legs to kick wildly against the snow, her feet shocked with cold as her feet pounded into the frozen quicksand beneath her. It was trying to devour her, swallow her into is deep blanket, sealing her in a grave of snowflakes.

Her body could only take her so far. Her warmth was stolen, her lungs imprisoned by the frozen air, her eyes cloudy with liquid fear and melted snow. All she could do was beg for her legs to keep running, her heart to keep beating, but the blizzard around her raged in its indifference, sealing her fate as she slowly lost vision of the others, the only visible being in the clearing being the Abomasnow, pushing its legs with little effort through the sea of white, its eyes blazing crimson as it laid its eyes on its soon to be meal.

Nona tried all she could to close her eyes, to beg for this to just be a dream, but she couldn't. She looked on in horror as the beast's face grew clearer, breaking free of the blizzard's haze as the Abomasnow's gaping maw loomed above her.  
She wanted to to go away, to all be just a bad dream.

She had just become a pokemon the day before with no memories and no choice. How could she already be dying? This wasn't fair. She couldn't even breathe, the last thing she wanted to do was to breathe in the clear air one last time, and now it was bitter, cold, and stunk of smoke.

Wait- smoke? Nona's eyes darted around the clearing. Sure enough, the haze of the blizzard was being overtaken by a cloud of ash and blackened smoke.

She looked up once more. The Abomasnow was reeling back, pulling its head far away from Nona and up into the air to try to find a place to breathe.

Next thing she knew, Nona felt two hands grip around her shoulders, pulling her out of the snow. She turned back and saw the Cubone from before grinning down at her.

"Thought you needed some help!" Ronan laughed, rubbing his open palms over Nona's shoulders to warm them up. "You staying cozy?"

The Mudkip was too dazed to answer, only staring at the Cubone with teary eyes.

"Hey, put your front leg up on my shoulder. I can carry ya outta here."

She wrapped her arm around the Cubone's shoulder, the way of standing upright awkward for her Mudkip body, but it was mobile with his support, and that was all that mattered.

A horrible roar could be heard behind the two, and they turned to see Abomasnow's blazing eyes glowing through the ash, turned to look directly at them. It started to stomp forward once more, this time faster and more urgent.

As it did, another familiar pokemon came running out of the cloudy air behind the Abomasnow, sprinting in front of the beast and waving her hands frantically to get its attention. The Cyndaquil's exhaust were full of smoke, pouring out of its back and slowly slithering its way into the air, filling the clearing with even more soot.

Ronan turned immediately and picked up his pace, dragging Nona along with him through the snow as it sunk under both of their weights. Despite the powerful snowfall, Ronan had an easier time running than Nona had, and the edge of the woods were soon in sight.

Just as Nona's teary eyes fell upon the pine trees, a rain of ice chunks the size of dragonites fell between the two fleeing pokemon and the woods, blocking their path. The Abomasnow had used avalanche to bar their escape, stopping them in their tracks. It was clear that the Abomasnow wasn't going to let its prey go that easily.

Cinder threw herself into a tackle, striking the Abomasnow in the leg and causing it to stumble. Abomasnow turned to Cinder and tried to kick her away, only spraying her with powder snow as it did.

During the distraction, Ronan attempted to run once more towards the woods, maneuvering around the colossal wall of ice to escape the falling avalanche.

It continued for what felt like hours, Ronan dragging Nona further and further through the snow, each time almost reaching the woods during Cinder's distraction, only for another avalanche to be dropped, sealing them in once more.

"Hey, m-mukbrain!" Cinder called out, her voice cracking with fear as the Abomasnow turned to face her, "l-leave them alone!" She threw herself once more at the Abomasnow, landing pathetically against its pillar of a leg.

It was then that the Abomasnow spotted it, the stream of smoke leaking from her exhausts. With a dumb look on its features, it turned to look at the rest of the clearing, seeing the smoke that clouded its vision was coming from the small fire type.

As per Cinder's request, the Abomasnow left Nona and Ronan alone, but its attention was now drawn to something that it deemed more important, the Cyndaquil.

"We're almost there, Mudkip. Keep your chin up, ok?" Ronan tried to reassure his rescue.

Nona saw the trees growing closer. She turned back to see if Abomasnow was going to be dropping an avalanche- It was, but not on them. Cinder danced in front of the giant's view, dodging falling ice as walls of snow and frost built up around her, trapping her in the path of the Abomasnow, helpless to its approaching attack.

The Mudkip tried to speak up, to tell the Cubone that his friend was in trouble, but the words were trapped in her throat by the soot and cold air.

Nona's adrenaline once more took hold, bidding her numbed legs to pound through the snow, sending up a cloud of powder snow of her own as she flew off of Ronan's shoulder. Before either she or Ronan could even tell what had happened, Nona heard one word echo through her mind: "Bite"

Her teeth dug with powerful force into the hardened flesh of the Abomasnow's heel. The beast reared its head up and roared in agony, finally being enough for it to lose its balance as it crashed to the ground, shaking the earth and sending pounds of snow flying through the air, soaking both Nona and Cinder as it immediately melted on their skins now hot with panic.

The rescuer and rescued locked eyes in disbelief. Did I really just take down a fucking Abomasnow? Is- Is it dead? Did I kill it?

The clearing went silent once more, with the three little pokemon staring in fear at the body of the Abomasnow, which they were still unsure of whether or not it was conscious. It stirred for a moment, raising its arm to try to swing once more at the two pokemon closest in blind fury, but its attack was brutally silenced when a familiar ball of flame struck it fatally in the skull, causing the beast's entire body to fall limp.

Crasher jumped down from the Abomasnow's lifeless body. Its head was cracked open, dripping with boiling green blood. The Blaziken watched the evergreen ichor stream out into the snow. His bloodlust was satiated- for now.

"I can't believe you would leave her alone like that! Do you know what this thing could have done to her?" Cinder shouted, her tiny eyes glaring daggers at the larger fire pokemon.

The Blaziken walked up slowly to Cinder, who backed away defensively as the larger pokemon approached. Before she could begin to run, though, his claws gripped around her puny throat, lifting her high above Crasher's head and squeezing mercilessly as  
Cinder's paws fell upon his knuckles with pathetic weight.

"W-Wait! Please don't hurt her!" Ronan begged, sprinting to rescue his sister as his eyes filled with tears.

"No-" Nona squeaked. She wanted to try to fight to free the Cyndaquil, but whatever instinct that had allowed her to use bite earlier refused to return to her.

Crasher raised his hand, ready to land it directly on Cinder's skull, but before he could deliver what would be a fatal attack, a familiar hand gently grabbed his fist.

The Blaziken turned to see Gengar, his eyes reddened with tears as his breaths were uneven and wheezing. For a moment, Crasher forgot all about his violent tendencies. He almost forgot about the squealing life he held hostage in his hands.

"Please, Crasher- hic" The Gengar sobbed, "it's dead. . . isn't that enough?"

"Yeah, and she knows it's dead now! You really want to just let her go?"

"She's just a kid. . . Isn't one death enough? Please."

"Fucking-. . . fine."

With another glare at the Cyndaquil, Crasher released his grip, allowing the small fire pokemon to fall pathetically into the snow, where she gasped for air. Ronan immediately ran to her side, scooping her body into his arms.

"You." The Blaziken pointed a burnt claw to Nona. "We're going to be bringing our client out to confirm my kill in an hour. You fuckers have five minutes to clear out, and if I see you anywhere near here when we come back, I won't hesitate to pound that little shit friend of yours' head into a pulp, got that?"

The Mudkip could only nod, walking up to the other two pokemon. Cinder stood up with the help of Ronan and Nona led the group slowly out of the clearing. As they were just about to leave and enter the pine woods before them, Nona spared a look back, seeing Crasher and Shiftry inspecting the kill solemnly, with Gengar being the only one to give the trio a quick look.


	5. Chapter Four: The Long Walk Home

As the group walked, Cinder slowly regained her breath, as well as her ability to lead, allowing Nona to follow meekly behind the other two while they trudged side by side. The feeling in her legs slowly returned, as well as the melted snow dripping off her skin as the terrain around them changed from that of a cold pine forest, to a gentle amber woods, with bright sunlight colored leaves gracing the trees and blanketing the ground below.

Nona had so many questions, starting with where they were going, but yet, she couldn't bring herself to ask them. She was tired. Her whole body ached. All she wanted to do was run and hide.

"Why-" Nona started.

Cinder and Ronan turned around, not interrupting their walk, but allowing the silence for her to speak in her hushed tone without issue.

She gulped. "Why did you come back?"

"Hm?" Cinder whispered, leaning in closer to hear her before actually processing what she said almost immediately after, "well, we-"

"That's the Explorer's duty! Of course we could come back and save you," Ronan interrupted, jumping up and pumping his fist.

Cinder laughed weakly. "Well, that's one reason, but we also came back because we were worried about you. Team Eviscerate is a pretty bad team. . . I'm sure you know that now. We wanted to come back sooner, but Blaziken's a real dangerous pokemon, and if we were to come back the same day or argue with him, well. . . "

Nona didn't need her to finish her sentence. The last hour was enough for her to get the picture.

They walked in silence for a bit longer, the whole group still trying to calm down from what had happened, both the threat from Blaziken and the attack from Abomasnow. Nona could feel the tension weighing down on them.

"What's the Drift mean?" Nona dared to ask, "I heard you say it the first time you saw Abomasnow, and I don't know what it is."

Cinder rubbed her hands together. "You must not be from around here then. . . There's this sickness called the Drift. It makes pokemon go crazy and attack people, like Abomasnow did." She shivered and looked down. "Most Abomasnow aren't like that one, but it was a Drifter."

"What causes someone to catch the Drift?" Nona prodded further.

Ronan butted in. "Dunno, nobody does. It's only been happenin' for a few years, but nobody's been able to figure out why or how. It's real weird."

The walk grew much quieter, though nobody was going to complain. Nona drank up the silence like ambrosia, enjoying any second of solace she could find. The breeze had now dried the melted snow off of her skin, and a few rays of sunset were peeking out through the leaves, warming her sides.

This already seems better than when I went with those Eviscerate guys, Nona thought to herself, this is so much warmer- and safer, I hope- wait a minute. We've been walking for so long. . . What are they planning on doing leading me so far from where they found me?

The Mudkip nudged Cinder in the back to get her attention. "Where are we going?"

"Hm? Oh, uh, we were going back to our house. . ." The Cyndaquil rubbed her arm. "I guess we should have asked you if you wanted to come first, sorry."

Nona stopped in her tracks. After what had happened earlier that day, she wasn't in a hurry to go trusting strangers. Ronan and Cinder did save her, but so did Team Eviscerate. At this point, being sure of their intentions was impossible.

"Why do you want me to follow you then?" She whispered with venom.

"Uh, you see, erhm. . . I'm sorry I-" Cinder sputtered, curling in on herself once more.

"We wanted to ask you if you wanted to join our exploration team!" Ronan was quick to interrupt, running up to Nona excitedly. She stepped back in shock.

"Your what?"

"Our exploration team," Ronan repeated, "we worked so well as a team when we were fighting Abomasnow. I think we would make a great team!"

The mention of a team brought back memories of Crasher's team, the same team that was about to let her be eaten by that monster. Considering her past experience with teams, she wasn't very keen on the idea of joining one.

The Mudkip looked down at the ground, then at the woods around her, looking for any possible escape routes. "What's an exploration team?"

Ronan looked at Cinder excitedly, and she nodded, silently giving him permission to gush. "Exploration teams are the coolest! They get missions from pokemon in need- pokemon like you- and they come to the rescue. They even get paid for it!"

"Why would you need me for that?"

"Well, uh, teams work through guilds, and you aren't allowed to join a team unless you meet their minimum requirements for strength, like how good your team is," Cinder explained, "Ronan and I. . . well we've tried before, but we never met the minimum. We always got turned down."

Nona's head still swam with questions, but at least that made some semblance of sense. The duo wasn't strong enough to fight the Blaziken alone. She could imagine that they would struggle to meet the standards of whatever guild they were referring to.

"Guild?" Nona questioned, easing up a bit.

"Yeah! Like the Star-reach guild in town!" Ronan smiled wide at the mention of it. "They take on apprentices, and those apprentices get to make teams and take jobs from the guild's job listings! The Star-reach guild is soooo cool! All of the apprentices there are so awesome, and Guildmaster Slowking is really nice! He's so helpful- they say there isn't a single thing he can't fix, not a single pokemon he can't help!"

That piqued Nona's interest. Granted, the idea that he was able to help any pokemon was most likely hyperbole, but it was the only lead she had at this point. If he could have even the slightest bit of input to her being a human, she would be willing to seek him out.

That was all she wanted, to just be able to know why she had become a pokemon, not even how.

"Ok, I'll. . . I'll go with you. I'll join your team."

Cinder lit up with excitement. She flapped her paws up and down and turned to Ronan, who pulled her immediately into a hug.

"Hooray! We can form an actual team now!" The Cubone cried, "c'mon Cinder! Let's get home!"

Ronan grabbed his sister's hand tightly and ran ahead.

"W-Wait! What about Mudkip?" Cinder yelled, trying to dig in her heels.

Nona let out a sigh and trotted after them. Maybe her choice would end up being right after all. She looked up once more at the blushing sky above her as a feeling of warmth returned to her body. She had something to hold on to, something she could be sure of, or as close to sure as the situation would allow, and gods willing, she would find out all she could about what Guildmaster Slowking could do to help her.


	6. Chapter Five: A fiery hearth & warm beds

"Here we are, our house!" Ronan boasted.

After about an hour of walking, Nona had managed to follow just behind the two siblings to find them both standing in front of a wall of cattails and reeds that towered high above them, bordering a large marsh. Ronan stood wide and held his claws out proudly towards the marsh as if he were showing her something impressive.

Cinder gently punched her brother's arm and laughed. "Well, almost, we live through these reeds here. Our house is in the middle of the swamp, on a little island so that the water doesn't soak our floor."

Taking in the sight of the towering wall of faded green grass, Nona couldn't help but feel uncomfortable with how small they made her feel. If she were a human, she would be able to walk through no problem, but now she had to sulk through the muddy water that lapped gently against the plant roots.

Taking a few steps closer, Nona stuck a cautionary foot into the watery earth. It was cold enough for the chill to soak into her paws, but not enough to numb them like the water in the lake. It seemed like the mud was just starting to feel the winter's bite and would not yet freeze for some time.

"Let's go, Cinder, I wanna get home and eat!" Ronan exclaimed as he pushed apart the reeds, creating a small opening into the marsh.

"O-Ok, just wait for me to get in front-"

Cinder shuffled ahead, helping Ronan part the reeds further and slipping inside. Ronan followed behind, holding their passageway open a second more for Nona to take up the tail-end of the line.

Nona immediately felt the sting of cold on her feet, and she danced a bit on her toes to try to avoid the chill.

Ronan did the same, though he giggled as he did. "It's really cold, isn't it. Don't worry! We'll be all warm and cozy once we get home."

"C'mon, Ronan, the sooner we get there, the sooner we can get a fire going," Cinder chimed.

Turning to look ahead of her, Nona saw just how suffocating the reeds around them were. There was barely enough space for them to stand in a single-file line, and even the stray grasses and fuzzy cattails tickled and scratched at her skin as they explored. Despite the tight quarters though, Nona could see ahead a small bit, noting the clearly well-trodden path they were walking.

Cinder, seeing Nona acknowledge her, turned forward again and led the way, her pace a bit slowed by the mud grasping at her ankles. She and Ronan followed.

Their telegraphed path quickly led them to a crossroads, with two branching paths splitting off in opposite directions. Cinder looked between them before choosing to take a right, though her expression wasn't one of confidence.

_Does she not know the way?_ Nona thought to herself. _She lives here, right? She must have taken this path before. . ._

"Nice choice, Cin. I have a good feeling about that one!" Ronan whistled. Cinder only chuckled in response.

Nona squinted in suspicion. What if they weren't actually taking her to their home, but instead taking her somewhere they couldn't be found, so they could rob her? Who doesn't know the way to their own house? Whether that was their plan or not, Nona still didn't feel safe, and after what had happened the last time her trust was given blindly, she wasn't going to be careless and wait until it was too late.

"How do you not know the way?" Nona whispered, allowing herself to lag behind in case she needed to run backwards. Her mind frantically traced the path they had taken already.

Now it was Ronan's turn to laugh. "You can't know the way through a mystery dungeon, silly. But if we could, that would make it a lot easier to get home."

"Mystery dungeon?"

"You. . . don't know what that is?" Cinder interrupted, peering to the back of the line.

Nona shook her head.

"Well, see- erhm. . . A mystery dungeon is a strange place that never stays the same. It's like a maze that changes every time you go inside. Each time you do, there are different treasures you can find and different pokemon too-"

"That's the mystery part!" Ronan bounced on his heels, splashing a bit of mud up his leg.

"We're in one right now, actually. See, each time we go through the dungeon to get home, we have to find a different path to get there, 'cause the path doesn't stay the same," Cinder explained.

Still skeptical, Nona started walking a few paces closer to the group again. A magical place that changes every time you go in sounded fake, but it didn't sound like they were lying to her, and besides, it's not like she had anything they could want from her. Why would they be trying to rob her? She didn't even have a bag like Ronan did. Were they trying to kill her? It felt counter intuitive to rescue someone only to try killing them, though that didn't seem to stop team Eviscerate. . .

The group walked for a few more minutes, passing through winding pathway after winding pathway before reaching a clearing in the reeds. When Cinder led them inside, Nona saw that it was no bigger than a few yards all around. It was completely empty except for a small blue object in the corner. Ronan ran up to it and snatched it up, holding it high above his head.

"It's an oran berry- score!"

"But. . . it was on the ground," Nona pointed out. Is eating mud covered fruit just a normal thing here?

"Well, we can wash it for dinner when we get home, right Cinder?" Ronan rubbed the berry against his upper arm.

With a nod, Cinder turned away from the other two, surveying the walls of the room, prompting Nona to do the same.

Not too much different than what she saw in the hallways, Nona's eyes took in the fleeting light of the sun illuminating the dried green and brown of the cattails and tall grass above them, casting blurred shadows down on the mud below. While beautiful, the sort of "room" they stood in didn't seem to have any other exit.

"Guess we should turn around." Nona spoke, but she didn't give enough force for it to come out anything other than a shapeless whistle.

Before she could tap Cinder's shoulder to tell her to lead the way back, the Cyndaquil was suddenly fixated on something in the wall opposite to the entrance of the room. Reaching out into the tall grass, she stuck her whole arm inside of the solid wall of faded emerald. After a few seconds of digging, her face lit up.

"I found the stump!" Cinder cried triumphantly, pushing her way through the grass in front of her, which parted with alarming ease.

Ronan beamed. "Ooh, Mudkip, that means we're almost home!"

"The what?-" Nona rasped, prodding cautiously ahead of Ronan to peek her head through Cinder's makeshift entrance.

Sure enough, sitting in another, much wider clearing this time, there lay a waterlogged stump, moss conquering the wood that remained above the murky puddle it lay in. The space itself was wide and sprawling, much bigger than the clearing they were just in. How did she miss this?

A gentle push against her rump persuaded Nona to actually enter the opening. Just as her feet hit the earth, she noticed just how much drier it was. Gravel and dampened sand wriggled their way between her small toes, though it was a welcome change from the mud.

Placing a paw against the soft emerald moss, Cinder turned to look at Nona and Ronan. "Ok. . . so, Mudkip, this is how we travel through the dungeon to the next floor. Do you know how that kind of stuff works?"

Nona's eyes danced between Cinder and the stump.

How is a stump gonna get us anywhere? She questioned silently, are they messing with me? I knew that something was up-

Before she could doubt any further, Ronan pushed past her and skipped up to the stump.

"It's easy! There's just this special little dance we gotta do!"

"Well, you don't have to dance. That's just what helps Ronan remember what to do," Cinder giggled.

"I don't know. . ." Stepping back, Nona looked confused at Cinder and Ronan.

The two siblings exchanged concerned glances. Though, this time, Nona didn't see the same fear she saw in Gengar earlier that day. It didn't look like an expression of fear, but one of confusion, not like the fearful glare on the lying ghost pokemon.

The Cyndaquil rubbed the back of her neck with a paw. "Er, let's just-. . . let's just-"

"-C'mere for a sec! It'll all make sense if you just let us show you!" Ronan interrupted, offering a hand out to Nona. The same smile he wore during the Abomasnow attack was present on his features once more, even visible through his mask.

"O-Ok." The Mudkip pawed her way forward and examined the stump, pointing towards it with a foot. "How is this supposed to get us to the next- er- floor?"

Giving a warm smile to her brother, Cinder walked up to explain. "You remember what I said about mystery dungeons being strange? See- this is one of the strange parts. Each dungeon has different floors, and the way to reach the next floor is different for each one. This dungeon has this stump." She gently patted the mealy wood, the sound muffled by the moss.

"All we gotta do is dance- uh, walk around it with our eyes closed, and we can go to the next floor!" Ronan finished his sister's thought.

Once again, Nona was skeptical. She was already shaky on the idea of mystery dungeons. The changing floor plan, the weird entrances, and now a magical ritual to reach a "floor" in the middle of a marsh?- Did marshes even have floors?- it was all too much for her to believe.

Though, they had said that they lived here. Whatever they did to get out, it must work, right?

With a resigned nod, Nona let her eyes fall once more on the towering stump.

"Alright, then line up right behind me and close your eyes, okay?" Cinder stood with her left side facing the stump as she let her paw rest on it.

Doing as she was told, Nona closed her eyes and heard Ronan's footsteps as he scampered up behind her.

"Start walking, Mudkip." The Cyndaquil's voice grew quiet and her pawsteps were heard on the dirt in front of her.

Feeling a bit silly, Nona followed after her. She could hear the rowdy steps of Ronan behind her, taking about three steps more than he would need to just walk around a stump. Was he. . .?  
He's dancing. Cinder wasn't joking.

"How long do we have to walk?" Nona asked hastily, her head turning around in panic. She didn't like being unable to see, especially not when alone with two strangers.

"Mmmm. . ." Cinder hummed, not really giving much of an answer.

_I don't like this- This is stupid! I'm going to open my-_

"-Mmmm-now," Cinder finally said. Her paw patted against Nona's head, signalling that they were done.

Whipping around, Nona's eyes shot open and her gaze darted around the clearing- or, wait. Where was the clearing?

The space she found herself in was covered in shade, with the reeds taking on a richer green and looming higher above her, blocking out the last fading bit of sunlight. Though the grass still looked the same, the layout had changed. They were no longer in the large, dry clearing. Nona could tell by the fact that the stump was no longer there. The ground beneath them was even shiftier and wetter than when they had entered the dungeon, making Nona's feet feel uncomfortable and cold. The wide and well-lit they were in moments before was replaced with a long and claustrophobic gap in the reeds with two smaller passageways.

"Wha. . ." Nona gawked.

"Toooold youuuuu." With a playful chuckle, Ronan plunged his hand into his bag.

_That. . . That couldn't have just happened. Cinder must have led me somewhere else. She must have had her eyes open. Nona's head swam with questions. But how? My eyes were only shut for a moment, not even long enough for us to have reached the grass at the clearing's edge. How?. . ._

"Still here!" Ronan shouted, holding a fistful of dolls above his head. "I didn't lose any of my dolls today, so you have to make roasted berry halves for dinner like you said!"

His sister grinned at him, giving him a thumbs up. "Good job, Ronan! Roasted berry halves it is."

"Oh, Nona, you're gonna love Cinder's roasted berry halves! C'mon, we're almost home, and then we can eat!"

The Cubone dashed into the nearest hallway before Cinder could take the lead. Turning to go after her brother, Cinder began to trudge through the mud after him, not even bothering to call out.

Just before Nona could follow, she saw something out of the corner of her eye. As her gaze dashed over to the movement, she saw a stream of water flying directly at her head. Instinct jerking her body to life, Nona dropped to the ground, slamming against the mud beneath her as spray flecks of water soaked the back of her head. She heard Cinder scream.

Lifting herself up out of the mud, Nona saw that the assailant was a Wooper on the other side of the room, its small, black and beady eyes completely blank as it stared at Nona.

"Cinder? Cinder!" Ronan turned back around the corner just in time to see his sister getting blasted with a water gun with what looked to be enough force to shatter rocks. He sprinted to her side, dragging her back through the hallway and out of the attacker's line of sight.

Now that the two were alone in the room, Nona had to weigh her options. Could I really fight this thing? Her knees wobbled and her teeth chattered in the cold. It's just a Wooper- I took down an Abomasnow!- But it hit Cinder so hard-

Before she could finish her train of thought, she felt a powerful impact on her side. The Wooper had tackled her to the ground. Without arms to follow up though, the Wooper slid off of her and into the mud at her side, where it flapped and flailed in a feverish attempt to defend itself.

Now with mud and grit in her eyes, Nona flailed just as wildly, throwing herself on top of the Wooper in frenzied panic. For a few seconds, it almost seemed like the Wooper was gaining leverage, but just as it was about to flip her on her back, Nona raised her head up high and brought it down full force on the mudskipper pokemon's skull. It lay dazed enough not to get back up as Nona's front paws immediately flew to her forehead as it seared with pain. Why did I do that? Damn-. . .

"Mudkip, I'm here to-" Ronan ran out from the hallway, his club held high above his head in a shaky battle stance. "-help?"

Nona spat out mud and lifted herself off of the Wooper. "It's. . . It's ok," was all she could muster.

"Woah, did you even use a move to knock it out?"

"I. . . I don't think so."

Nona turned back towards the Wooper, only to see a froth of dirt-speckled bubbles filling the spot where it once lay. Without hesitation, Nona dropped herself to the ground, her paws gripping tightly to the mud. Where did it go? Where the hell did it go?

"W-Wait, Mudkip, it's ok! That's another thing with mystery dungeons. When you hurt a pokemon here real bad, they disappear," Ronan reassured her, placing a supportive hand on her shoulder.

That was enough to ease some of Nona's fear, though the surprise attack still had her shaken up- too shaken up to even question how absurd vanishing pokemon sounded. "Where's Cinder?"

"Over here." The Cyndaquil limped out from the hallway after Ronan, her paws rubbing over the fur on her sides vigorously. "That water attack scared me really bad- and now my fur's soaked. . . W-We can keep going though. The sooner we're home, the easier it'll be to warm up. . ."

Nona nodded, letting out a sigh of relief. She waited for a moment for Cinder and Ronan to walk ahead, but Cinder didn't move.

"Cin?" Ronan stopped as well. "What's wrong?"

"I just. . ." Cinder stammered, averting her eyes, "I don't know if I can lead the group. . . That Wooper got me real bad."

"Oh! That's ok! I can lead instead."

Cinder grabbed her brother's arm right as he was about to blow ahead. "Ronan, I can't have you leading- you'll get ahead of us and we'll get lost. It's too much of a risk- Mudkip. . . you handled yourself against that surprise attack pretty well, and you aren't weak to water attacks- do you think that maybe you could lead?"

The request took Nona by surprise, but after a moment of thought, she saw that Cinder had a point. Another attack like that could spell doom for the group, and if Nona were in front, maybe her fights will end up going better.

The Mudkip nodded, silently walking to the front of the line and allowing the other two to follow.

The rest of the dungeon was eerily quiet. No more pokemon jumped out at them, and they hadn't found any other items either. With the sun completely set above them and the gentle light of the waning moon bathing the field of reeds, it almost felt like they were wandering through a painting. After what felt like about a half hour, Nona pushed through a thin wall of blooming cattails to see a small wooden house perched on a grassy rise in the center of a large clearing.

"Home sweet home. . ." Cinder sighed wistfully as she entered the clearing. Ronan slipped past her and ran forward into house

"Hoooooome!" He shouted with his arms raised in the air.

Nona let out a raspy chuckle. "Is he always like this?"

"Oh definitely. It grows on you, though." Cinder smiled warmly and walked side-by-side with Nona up to the front door.

As she got closer, Nona could make out the details of the house much easier. It was very small, with seemingly only one room inside. The entire building was made out of wood with a few windows on each side of the round house. The outside of the building was worn down, a few wayward plants and patches of moss finding their spots in the nooks and crannies of the windowsills and doorframe, but despite the worn down appearance, it didn't look abandoned. There were small flower beds dug out of the trampled grass, as well as well-kept, if not dull, brown paint on the walls. Even if the entire building was far from lavish, it felt like a home where a hyperactive and young brother and sister would live.

Cinder unlocked the door with a key from Ronan's bag and pulled it open with a faint creak, revealing the entire building to be pitch black, minus a few faint strings of moonlight peeking through the windows.

Before Nona's eyes could start to adjust to the darkness, Cinder let out a huff as her back ignited in a weak, yet steady flame. Now guided by the amber glow, the Cyndaquil walked through the house to a fireplace and spit a few embers into a pile of logs already set there. The hearth ignited quickly, bathing the house in a warm orange glow.

With the entire interior much more visible, Nona really saw just how lived in the home was. There were two nests next to the fireplace, both with large indents in the middle from many nights of sleep. There was a small kitchen to the right of the entrance, with doorless cupboards lining the walls and a table big enough for four. The floors were wooden and cold with various dolls and toys strewn all over.

"Ronan, buddy, you gotta stop leaving your toys all over. I almost tripped on your spinning top while I was walking," Cinder gently scolded.

"Okay. . . I'll pick them up." The Cubone groaned, throwing his bag haphazardly on the ground to his side before scooping up an armful of toys and carrying them towards the nests.

Nona saw that Ronan had numerous toys, but none of them were in good condition. A few seams of the dolls were frayed, and the spinning top looked lopsided. Still, he placed them gently down in the pile of straw as if he was delivering the finest of gold.

Cinder walked over to the bag that Ronan dropped and carried it into the open kitchen, setting it down on the table and carefully rummaging through until she pulled out the oran berry they had found earlier. She walked over to a basin of water that was built into the counter and dunked the berry a few times, scrubbing it with her paws.

"Dinner will be ready in a few, Mudkip," Cinder hummed distractedly, "hey, Ronan, how about you show our guest your toys for a bit?"

Meeting eyes with the eager Cubone, Nona walked over to the pile of toys Ronan had dropped. Ronan plopped himself down into his nest and grabbed a Charizard plushie from the pile.

"Ok, so this right here is Charizard- She's from Team ACT, and she's a hero! Oh- wait- speaking of ACT, have you heard of Alakazam? They're the leader, and they can read minds!-"

The rest of the night was somehow both rowdy and peaceful, with Ronan enthralling Nona with tales of heroes and villains from this strange world she knew nothing about. Though most of it was the overexcited ramblings of a child, she took in all she could. Every once and awhile, Nona glanced over to the hearth and saw Cinder smiling as she kept the fire roaring, placing a pan of sliced berries on a rack inside of the hearth. She was listening too, though her far-off expression showed that this most likely wasn't her first time hearing the stories.

"Charizard's your favorite, right Cinder? I always let you play as her whenever we play heroes."

"Mhm," Cinder chuckled, "she's one of the fiercest explorers out there when it comes to fighting, and she's so kind too. . . Oh- looks like these are almost done, Ronan, could you help me set the table?"

The Cubone dropped the two Team ACT dolls he had in his hands and rushed into the kitchen, pulling out a stack of three cream colored plates and setting them carefully on the table before pulling up a round wooden chair at the far end of the table, leaving two other chairs just next to him for the others to sit.

Nona took up the chair to Ronan's left, sitting awkwardly with her quadrupedal body, but eventually being able to rest her front legs on the tabletop and balance herself.

With her guest and younger brother set to eat, Cinder brought the pan of perfectly sauteed oran berry slices, setting one on each plate before sitting down herself in the final chair and leaving the rest of the food in a bowl at the table's center.

"Yay, food!" Ronan squealed happily as he picked the slice up whole and took a large bite.

With dinner finally underway, Nona lowered her head down to the plate and bit down on the morsel. Her paws weren't maneuverable enough to use for eating, so this was the next best thing. As much as she wanted to savor the dish, her appetite got the best of her, and before she knew it, she had the entire slice in her mouth. It tasted strangely earthy and natural, with a bit of a kick, like she had bitten into a wild fruit, but with her hunger, Nona would have sworn it tasted as good as a well-done steak.

Without asking permission, Nona leaned over the table and took up another slice in her teeth, dropping it down on her plate and taking the time to eat it in bites. She hadn't even realized just how starved she felt after two days without food, but now that she had the chance to rest, she felt like she could swallow a Wailord.

"Hey, Mudkip, can I ask you something?" Cinder asked, setting down her half eaten slice.

Nona lifted her head up from the plate and nodded. Her face was covered in cooking oil and berry juice.

"What were you doing out there on the ice?"

The air went silent for a moment, the only sounds being those of Ronan munching on his meal, appearing uninterested in the conversation.

"-You don't have to tell me. I was just curious, since the ice looked like it got cracked real bad, and-"

"I don't know," Nona replied curtly.

"O-Oh, alright." Cinder looked down at her food and took another bite.

How she got there was something that Nona had been wondering for herself this entire time, and still she had no answer. Even if she did want to tell them, Nona didn't even have a guess.

"That's ok! You know, I forget stuff all the time, like just last week I forgot my Alakazam doll at the general store in town! Maybe if you think back to when you last-"

"I just don't know."

Cinder placed a guiding paw on Ronan's arm. "Hey, she doesn't want to talk about it, just let it be."

The silence continued as Ronan shrugged off the conversation, grabbing another slice and cutting it into little shapes with his claws.

Would it have been right to tell them? Even if they didn't seem as bad as Eviscerate, Nona couldn't be sure of whether or not she could trust them with the knowledge of her amnesia or of her being human. Still, she couldn't just leave the conversation at that. Every second they spent not talking, Nona could feel the tension grow.

"What were you two doing there?" Nona asked, breaking the silence and shifting up in her seat.

Ronan looked up again from his food. "Oh! We were out on a delivery! It was a really important job, only for the best of the best."

"We were just delivering some bluk berries to someone out in the woods," Cinder explained with a chuckle, "some family out there needed them for their dinner."

"Well, it's still important! What if they were making it to impress their neighbors, then it would be important!"

Nona exhaled through her nose in a half-hearted laugh. This was good, the topic of conversation was shifting away from her, and with it went the anxiousness she was starting to harbor.

"Is delivering things your job?" Nona's eyes drifted between Ronan and Cinder.

"Yes, ever since we've lived here, we've been running deliveries. Right, Ronan?"

"Right!"

With his exclamation, Ronan popped the last bit of food in his mouth and pushed out his chair. Cinder did the same.

"Hey, Mudkip, you can sleep over here!" Ronan jumped off his round chair and pointed to a spot on the ground close to the fire. "I'll go get the blankets!"

The Cubone threw down a scratchy, murky-gray colored blanket in a ruffled pile, with a space in the middle large enough for Nona to sit in. He placed another blanket of the same material off to its side as well for Nona to cover herself with.

Taking a moment to feel out her bed, Nona pawed down the blanket pile until it was a comfy cushion. She slumped down into its folds, her face turned towards the glowing embers of the fire.

Cinder and Ronan followed suit. The two siblings swapped "I love you's" before curling up in their beds and telling Nona goodnight as well.

A few minutes passed with Nona sitting completely still and trying her best to fall asleep, but her mind refused to rest, instead keeping her awake with the hundreds of questions she had buried down deep since the Abomasnow had attacked.

_Why was I brought here to the pokemon world?. . . If I was once a human, why am I now a Mudkip? That doesn't just happen. This isn't fair-_

_. . ._

_Maybe I was never a human at all? What if when I lost my memories, I somehow started believing I was a human?_

_No, that wouldn't make any sense. If I couldn't remember anything, how would I have been told I was a human? It might just be something I know deep down, like water being wet and the sun rising- it's just something that you don't forget. . ._

_But if I know that, how did I lose all of my other memories? I don't think I hit my head or anything like that. When I woke up there on the ice, my head didn't even hurt. . ._

_Wait a minute- what was I thinking of when I woke up? Did I dream anything? Think, Nona, think-_

Nona squeezed her eyes shut as she tried desperately to remember something- anything from when she lost consciousness out on that lake.

A few words and tones danced in her mind, though when she reached out to them, they blew away like smoke, leaving her to try to desperately try to conjure up the memory once more. It was an endless cycle of desperate guesses as a few words started to solidify.

_Die. . . Help_

_. . ._

_Please. . ._

_Nona. . ._

It was all nonsense, just a few unconnected words. What could they mean? What did they have to do with her losing her humanity? How did she turn into a pokemon? Where the hell was she?

"Hey, Mudkip," Ronan whispered.

Nona opened her eyes groggily and rolled over to look at the Cubone. "Hm?"

"What's your name? I didn't ask you earlier, 'cause we didn't have time, but I want to know."

". . .Nona."

Ronan smiled. "That's a pretty name. Alright, goodnight, Nona."

". . . Uh, goodnight, Ronan."

Nona closed her eyes once more, her mind finally silencing enough for her to fall into a dreamless sleep.


	7. Chapter Six: The Star-Reach Guild

The sunlight peeked in through the dusty windows of the small cottage, bouncing off of the wooden floors and illuminating the room in a bright golden shine.

Nona greeted the morning with a heavy yawn and groggy eyes, which she covered to allow her sight to adjust to the brightness. Leaving her paws to rest on her belly, Nona looked around her. She had woken up sprawled out in the cozy pile of blankets, which had been uncurled by her turning over in the night.

"Morning!" Ronan waved. He was sitting at the table, bouncing in his seat.

"Mmm. . ."

Nona's blurry gaze scanned the room. She saw Cinder sitting by the fire, her paws busy stirring a large stone pot cozied up inside of a pile of smouldering coals. Judging by the sugary fruit scent that filled the air, she guessed it was another berry dish, though from her lower vantage point, she couldn't see.

With a barely vocal grunt, Nona lifted herself onto her paws and arched her back as her front paws stretched out before her, finishing it all off with a big yawn.

Nona padded her way over to the table, taking up the same seat she had sat in the night before as she allowed her nose to fill with the delicious smell of their breakfast. Her stomach gurgled.

"Ooh- Ooh- Nona, guess what Cinder's making!-"

Her gaze fell down onto the table for a few moments before shrugging in response.

Ronan chuckled. "We're having Appltun cakes with jam! Have you ever had one?"

Maybe at some point Nona had tried Appltun cakes with jam, but with her memories gone, it wasn't like she could be sure. She shrugged again.

"Well, you're about to!" Cinder interrupted as she approached the table with the large cauldron, placing it on a cloth potholder on the center of the table.

"Ronan, can you go grab the buns?"

"They're cakes!"

"Pshh- same difference, now go!"

With another laugh, Ronan jumped off his seat and grabbed the cakes, making a mess as he dug through the kitchen before skipping back to the table and handing a brown bag to Cinder.

"T-Thank you, Ronan." She carefully unfolded the top of the bag and reached inside, pulling out a round yellow cake with what looked like brown sugar sprinkled on top before handing it to Nona. The Mudkip felt it in her paws. The cake was moist and rich, and it smelled like it was fresh out of the oven, despite the fact that it was packaged.

Nona took time to enjoy her meal, savoring the natural sweetness of the warm jam on the buttery cake. Ronan and Cinder did the same, with Ronan shuffling excitedly in his seat as he ate.

"Cinder." Ronan gulped down the last bite of his food. "Can we go now please?"

"Uh. . . yeah, the guild should be open by now-"

Before Cinder could finish her explanation, the sound of Ronan shoving his chair away from the table interrupted her. The Cubone ran past the table, hooking the bag on his arm as he did and stood at the doorway, bouncing on his heels.

Nona looked quickly between the two pokemon. "Where?. . ."

Cinder pushed her seat out, punctuating the action with a sigh. "Well, Nona, we're going to the guild today, that's why we got up so early. . . We're going to be registering our exploration team today- you remember right? You agreed to it yesterday." The Cyndaquil rubbed her paws together anxiously.

Agreeing to join an exploration team is definitely a strange thing to just forget about, and yet it still somehow slipped Nona's mind until this moment.

"We're going-. . ." Nona tried to speak, but the words caught in her throat. Waking up had left her already weak voice as nothing more than a raspy whisper.

"Mhm- yep," Cinder reassured her, "we're going as soon as you're done with your food- but we can wait though if you aren't done."

Shoving the last half of her cake into her mouth, Nona slipped off of the chair. She hummed to signal that she was ready, and the trio left the house with Cinder at the front.

As the Mudkip stepped outside, the first thing she noted was the wall of tall grass blocking them inside of their little clearing. Yet another thing she had almost forgotten- the fact that they would have to walk the same grueling path they took the night before.

Just as Nona was about to groan out whatever complaint her voice would allow, Cinder approached the mass of emerald growth. Was it. . . moving? Right before Nona's eyes, the towering blades bowed to Cinder's presence, opening up a narrow path. The grass bent into a bow shape, making a roofed tunnel.

Even if Nona could have spoken, she wouldn't have known what to say.

"T-Thank you-. . ." Cinder mumbled as she led the way inside of the tunnel. Ronan followed closely behind.

Seeing no other way to go, Nona followed them. As soon as she entered the tunnel, she noticed how the inside was almost pitch-black. Aside from the sounds of wet footsteps from Cinder and Ronan, there was nothing guiding her, spare the occasional scratch of grass against her sides if she got too close to the walls.

What was strange about this walk, though, was that the path never changed direction. There were no rooms- no sign of any other pokemon either- just the whispering of the grass in the wind and the grumbling of the muddy earth beneath Nona's feet, which somehow grew quieter, as if getting further away. We didn't turn, did we? How is it getting quieter? Is the wind dying down? No- even our footsteps, they're getting. . . I can hardly hear-

"Cinder. . ." Nona whispered as loud as her voice would permit, but it didn't seem like either of them heard her. It wasn't like this was the first time that Cinder and Ronan knew more than Nona did about whatever the current situation was, but that did little to comfort the trembling Mudkip as she started to believe that she would honestly have preferred to go through the dungeon again.

Before she could run back, Nona felt the silence in the air lift. She turned her head upwards and saw blue skies peeking through the green grass that now glowed with life under the sunlight. Everything slowly came into view as the whistling wind returned.

There was a loud brushing noise from up ahead before Cinder spoke up. "We're out!" The Cyndaquil exclaimed.

Cinder led the group out from the brush, and Nona hastily ran to finally feel hard ground beneath her and to be free from the mud and tangled grass.

As her eyes adjusted to the brightness, Nona saw that not only were they out of the tunnel, but the dungeon itself entirely! In only a minute of walking they had left the dungeon that the night before had taken almost an hour to traverse.

"You're probably wonderin' how we got outta there so fast," Ronan chimed, sensing the Mudkip's confusion, "that's another weird thing about dungeons- it's always easier to get out than to get in. Once you reach the middle, all you gotta do is turn around and it'll let you out no problem!"

Nona only nodded. That must have been why the tunnel was so dark- it wasn't just a regular path through the dungeon; it was some sort of special passage. The thought pecked at the back of her mind like a hungry Torchic. How did such a short path take them so far? Was it the same reason that the stump was able to teleport them out of nowhere? Nona's head stung, but at this point there was little questioning she could do.

"Ronan- wait up!" Cinder was sent scampering after her brother, who had bolted ahead into the woods while Nona wasn't looking.

With a soft gasp, the Mudkip bounded after them.

"I can't help it if I'm excited!"

"Well you could, at the very least, tell me before you go running off!"

The brother and sister bickered for what felt like the entire walk. Nona was only partially listening, as she was prone to do, her consciousness instead lost somewhere in her head. Normally her thoughts would be buzzing with questions, but the sudden warmth of the sun on her back made her drowsy and complacent in her confusion, instead having her mind drift where it will, like a leaf on the wind.

A strong spiced scent brought Nona out of her trance. As her eyes slowly began to focus again, she peered ahead to see a parting in the trees, with golden sunbeams leaking in through the dried leaves still on the branches.

The Mudkip gently pawed Cinder's shoulder, who flinched at her touch. "Are we there?"

Cinder rubbed the spot where Nona had touched. "Uh- yeah, mhm. We made it to-"

"Ambersap Town!" Ronan chimed, inserting himself in the conversation with an excited grin.

As the group spoke, Cinder and Ronan lead the way through the trees and onto a cobblestone street split with moss. The team had entered a large town square, with small wooden buildings adorned with dark wood beams and stone foundations lining the wide cobblestone streets. The square was blooming with life- shopkeepers calling out to the families passing by, children running along the crowds, and the trees surrounding the town sprinkling the air with flame-red leaves that danced through the warm autumn breeze.

Nona caught herself stepping towards the center of it all, enthralled by the energy of the town, but Cinder's firm, but gentle grip on her shoulder stopped her.

"We don't need two wanderers in our group, Nones," Cinder sighed.

"Nones?" Nona squeaked.

"What. . . Oh- did I call you Nones?"

Nona replied with a nod.

Her cheeks blushing, Cinder let go and rubbed her arm. "Sorry, sometimes I give people nicknames like that- I guess I shoulda asked first. I'll just call you Nona then-"

With a distressed gasp, Nona shuffled her paws and shook her head.

"Cinder, I think she likes to be called that, right Nones?" Ronan chimed in with a grin.

"Yeah. . ." Nona smiled a wide and goofy smile

Cinder laughed. "Alright then, Nones, Ronan, we should get to the guild before they get too busy. Let's hurry!"

With the final call to action, Ronan grabbed Cinder's hand and pulled her off down one of the paths. Nona was about to follow when she heard a shout from one of the buildings. A Swalot was standing in a large stone doorway with a sign hanging above that Nona couldn't read from so far away. The poison pokemon was shouting something and shooing away another pokemon, who shuffled away from the store, their tear-filled eyes aimed at the ground as they fled. The only features Nona could make out on the stranger was a large pair of wings on their back.

Suddenly aware of how much she was lagging behind, Nona tried her best to ignore what she saw and ran after her teammates.

The team romped together through the bustling streets of Ambersap town, dodging crowds of pokemon that all chuckled warm-heartedly at their haste. "We're almost there- just one more block!" Ronan shouted back with a laugh.

Sure enough, the team turned down one last street, and while Ronan and Cinder blazed ahead, Nona was stopped in her tracks, her mouth hanging slightly open in awe. The cobblestone faded into a hard-packed dirt that led into the surrounding woods. Towering high above the rest of the forest was a deciduous tree the size of what looked to be a dozen Abomasnow, though Nona knew it must have been even bigger. Built into the sea of yellow and golden leaves of its boughs was what looked like a city all its own. Wooden structures and bridges strung through the branches, with a spiral wooden staircase wrapped around the tree's mighty trunk. Without any sort of introduction, Nona knew that she was looking upon the Star-reach Guild.

Excitement took hold of Nona, and before either of her partners could call for her to catch up, she was by their side, their infectious glee finally getting through to her. The three raced to the top, with Nona surprisingly taking first- which was strange since Nona was awfully afraid of heights, but when you're faced with something as big and wonderful as a colossal treehouse, fear is easily forgotten.

When they had all reached the top, Cinder led the group inside, through the large wooden archway that marked the Guild's entrance.

The interior of the guild was almost as awe-inspiring as its height. The interior was entirely wooden and seemed to be carved out of the trunk of the tree, the floor and ceiling having thousands of rings showing the tree's age. The walls were lined with boards that were tacked full of crinkled papers and notes that Nona couldn't read from where she stood. Nona turned her head upwards to see that the main hall they had entered went up even further, with stairways leading up into other floors that all opened up into the same area. Light poured in from open windows dotting the walls, and winged pokemon fluttered and soared through the rafters and out into the blue sky.

Dozens of pokemon chattered and scurried around excitedly through the guild, each voice combining together into a constant loud roar that echoed through the wide open room.

Cinder gulped. "Well, uh, we should probably go to the front desk- Dash will probably be there. He can register us as a team. . . Ronan, do you think maybe we should come back later?" The last question was nothing louder than a whisper.

Nona squinted through the crowd, unbothered by the noise. Her mind managed to tune it out as her gaze sharpened. While a group of grass pokemon passed in front of her, she spotted a large wooden desk, engraved with carvings of trees and mountains, manned by a bewildered looking Smeargle with a black painter's cap atop their head.

"What? No- we finally have another member. We can't quit now!" Ronan puffed out his chest and scanned the crowd, though it didn't look like he was looking for anything particular other than to look brave.

With a whistle, Nona pointed her paw towards the front desk, and for the first time since their day had begun, Nona took the lead, carefully making a path through the crowd for the other two pokemon to follow.

When Nona approached the desk, the Smeargle only spared her a quick glance before turning to assist a Manectric holding a piece of paper in their mouth. "One moment please-. . ." They muttered absentmindedly.

"Dash- we wanna form a team!"

Ronan pushed a Raichu out of his way as he marched up to the desk and slammed his hands down on top of it, causing the Smeargle to jump. Seeing Ronan approach, Manectric rolled their eyes and walked off.

"Oh- well- Ronan, I've told you before- you can't form a team if you don't meet the Guild's requirements for strength, which you and Cinder have shown to be unable to- um-. . .do."

Cinder scampered up behind the other two and took her place beside them at the desk. "But it isn't just Ronan and me this time- we have a new member." She gestured towards Nona. "This is Nona the Mudkip, and she's gonna be joining our team this time."

Dash's eyes widened in surprise. "I suppose that if you have reason to be tested again, then I could get you registered- just give me a moment here to try to find the application forms. . ." The Smeargle turned on their stool to face a pile of uneven papers behind them. Their tail waved over the desk, revealing it to be soaked with a gradient of sunshine orange and hot pink.

"I can't believe it- we're actually gonna form a team. . ." Cinder mumbled under her breath as she flapped her paws up and down beside her in excitement. Ronan was bouncing on his heels.

While waiting, Nona's eyes began to wander the guild, taking in the gigantic room around her once more and scanning the crowd just to see what pokemon were there.

Kricketune, Bayleef, Illumise, Togetic, Blaziken-

Nona's heart stopped as she saw the sickeningly familiar silhouette of Crasher swaggering through the crowd of pokemon, which parted immediately as the room began to fall silent.

The image of the Blaziken's sadistic grin drowned out her other thoughts. Her instincts commanded her to run, and she was in no state to disobey. Before she could process what had happened, she had hid herself deep in the crowd, cowering behind the tallest pokemon she could find, her vision narrow and her heart beating like a drum.

As terrified as Nona was, she couldn't take her eyes off of the towering avian pokemon as he silently ordered her friends to stand aside. Digging a hand into the satchel he held at his side, Crasher produced from it a bruised apple and a crumpled slip of paper, dropping both items haphazardly on the desk without a word.

"C-Congratulations, Crasher from Team-" Dash gulped. "-Team Eviscerate, on completing your- uh- your job. . . here's your payment: the 200 poke the client had promised." Without meeting the Blaziken's eyes, Dash held out a small handful of gold coins.

In one quick motion, Crasher snatched the money up in his fist, a few coins spilling out onto the floor, which he didn't take notice to.

From where she was, Nona could see Cinder's face go red and her fist shake at her side. "C-Can't you see we were here first? Who do you think you are pushing us out of the way like that?"

As his sister shouted at Crasher, Ronan noticed that Nona was nowhere to be seen. He quickly scanned the crowd, and he and Nona locked eyes.

"Nones? What are you doing hiding?" The Cubone approached her. "Sorry about that, Bayleef. I hope she didn't cause any trouble," Ronan added, looking up towards the pokemon Nona had been hiding behind.

"Pshaw- is' alright, Ronan! Is your friend here doin alright? I saw that she was scared and didn't want to spook her any more than she already was," a gentle voice responded.

Now that the adrenaline was starting to mellow out, Nona was able to look up and see a Bayleef smiling down at her.

"You were spooked by Blaziken over there, weren't ya? Can't say I blame you," another voice behind her called. A Scyther crossed his scythes in front of his chest and smiled.

Nona felt the Cubone place his hand on her shoulder, and her head snapped to him. "Hey, it's okay Nona. You'll be safe here with all these people around. C'mon- let's not let him ruin our day."

With her friend's encouragement, Nona reluctantly stepped forward and out of the crowd, turning her head for a moment to nod thanks at the Bayleef and Scyther. Ronan kept his hand gently placed upon her back the entire time, following his friend's pace.

"Yeah, shithead? What are you gonna do? I just had to turn in a job- fuck off!" Though Nona kept her gaze fixed on the wooden floor to avoid his gaze, she could hear Crasher loud and clear as he swore at Cinder. "Besides, whatever you and your pussy of a brother were doing, it can wait-" Nona could hear the Blaziken turn to leave, but his footsteps suddenly stopped. ". . . Huh, I see that Mudkip you guys found wanted to stick around."

Oh no, he saw me. Oh god he saw me-

Nona gulped and looked up. Sure enough, the first pokemon she locked eyes with was the tall fire type- his beak still curled in that sadistic smirk that still made her shiver.

"Guess it makes sense that you three would want to stick together. If shit ever goes south, it's always good to have someone slow you can trip up and leave as a distraction. If you guys were a team, you'd always have two distractions to use, Mudkip," Crasher snickered.

"Fuck off, chicken legs." A cerulean Feraligatr only a few inches shorter than Crasher pushed her way through the gathering crowd and stuck her maw right up to the Blaziken's face. "Who the hell do you think you are bullying some kids? Get a life."

Rage flashed behind Crasher's eyes, that same fire that Nona recognized from when he killed the Abomasnow, but he only chuckled, and it faded just as quickly as it had come. "Like I'm wrong?"

"Everybody has to start somewhere. It's not like we got any shortage of errands for the kids to run."

"Hear that?" Crasher pushed past the Feraligatr. "Errands- you might wanna get used to 'em, since that's the only jobs you little fuckers'll ever get."

A guttural growl escaped through the Feraligatr's bared teeth. Locking eyes with the water pokemon one last time, Crasher turned and walked leisurely towards the main door.

"As fun as it is taking the piss outta you losers, I got shit to do. But hey- I'll let you guys know if I ever need you to bring me a berry or something." With that, Crasher left the whole main hall with a tense air that everyone could feel.

Nona's legs were jelly and her stomach felt like it was full of boiling lava. Was this even what she really wanted? To join a team with Cinder and Ronan? Sure she trusted them, but what if Crasher was right and they weren't strong enough? Would she die? Were there other pokemon out there that would want to kill her like Abomasnow did?

"I'm sorry about him, kiddo," the Feraligatr consoled, crouching down next to the three pokemon with a solemn look in her eyes. "Don't let him get to you, alright? You guys are gonna make a great team."

"Yeah, of course we will!" Ronan exclaimed, his positivity lightening the sour mood the arguing had left behind, "right, Cinder?"

Cinder nodded. Nona could see a few tear streaks down the Cyndaquil's face, which she quickly rubbed away. "What about you, Nona? Do you still wanna join our team?" She sniffed.

"You still want me on your team?. . ." Nona whispered as she looked at the other two.

Ronan only smiled. "'Course we do! What does Crasher know? That butthead wouldn't know potential if it punched him in the beak!"

Nona snorted.

Feraligatr bellowed with laughter. "That's the spirit! I gotta get back to my team, and you kids gotta get back to your application." The water type put her arms on her knees and lifted herself back up. "You stay safe, ya hear? And if that guy comes back, you just give ol' Rouser a holler!" She pointed a thumb at herself as she walked away.

With that reassurance, Cinder called the other two back to the front desk. Dash walked them through the application process, asking for names, species, ages and the like- most of which Nona had to come up with on the spot.

"And you, Nona, right?" Dash pointed his tail at the Mudkip. "What are your known moves?"

"Um. . ." Nona stared at her feet.

". . . It's alright if you don't know- I'll just put it down that you aren't sure, and when training starts we can test you on it, okay?"

Nona nodded, the Smeargle's supportive tone easing her worry.

"One last thing, do any of you have any sort of illnesses, disabilities, or ailments that would need accomodation?" Dash asked, looking between the three pokemon.

Cinder looked up at the ceiling for a moment before shaking her head. "Nope, Ronan and I are right as rain!"

"Amnesia," Nona croaked.

"Oh yeah, Nona has amnesia! Don't forget to put that down-" Ronan chimed in.

Dash raised an eyebrow. "Do either of you know how she got it?"

"No, we just met her yesterday. We found her out in the woods, and she couldn't remember anything." Cinder looked at Nona and smiled reassuringly.

"Ah-" Dash's perplexed expression diffused into a sympathetic smile. "What most likely happened to Nona here was that she lost her memories by the hand of another pokemon. Unfortunately, these sorts of things happen more often than you might think- do you feel well physically? No extreme fatigue or loss of feeling in your body?"

Nona shook her head. Dash nodded in understanding. "Then it seems like she doesn't have any physical side-effects from something like dream eater- that's a good thing! Do you remember where you live? Any friends, family or partners? If you would like, we could spread the word that you've been found without your memories- someone might recognize-"

"No!-" Nona interrupted sharply, "Uh- No, that's ok. I didn't have any family here. . . no friends either."

It really wasn't worth wasting the Guild's time searching for relatives or friends that she was sure she didn't have in this world. But now that she knew that a pokemon could have done this, she couldn't shake the thought.

Still, that didn't explain how she was turned into a Mudkip. . .

"Oh. . . that's a shame. . ." Dash looked down at the application and added a few more strokes with a frown. "Alright- you three should be all set. The test will be held tomorrow in Featherfall Wood. Cinder, Ronan, you both have done this before, so you'll be able to lead Nona there when the time comes, right?"

"Right!" Cinder and Ronan exclaimed in unison.

Ronan grabbed Cinder by the hand and started leading her out of the guild, but this time he didn't run too far ahead, leaving enough time for Nona to catch up.

"Hey, Cinder. . ." Nona called, pawing at her side, "why did Crasher only get an apple?"

Cinder pursed her lips and looked at the ground. "For the Abomasnow, you mean? . . . Uh- well, Crasher's team- team Eviscerate- isn't like any other team. They're a kind of team called poachers. They don't take normal jobs. Instead, they get paid under the table to do illegal stuff. . ." The Cyndaquil looked at Ronan, who seemed distracted by a cloud. Knowing he was distracted, she leaned in closer to Nona and started to whisper. "Things like kidnapping, assassinations, and other really- really bad stuff."

Nona's blood went cold. As if Crasher wasn't terrifying enough, knowing just what he was capable of- what he was willing to do for payment- it made her face flush and her stomach turn.

"That's why he was only given an apple. Poachers do little jobs like that so that they look like they're legitimate teams, but their real pay comes from their other clients," Cinder finished, raising her voice back to normal volume. "It's not something we can really do anything about. Those kinds of teams don't leave a lot of proof of what they do- definitely not enough to report them to any Guilds, and even if we did they would just threaten us like they did yesterday. . ."

The two girls walked in somber silence as Nona processed. Lucky for them, the silence didn't last long, as before they knew it they were walking along the busy streets of Ambersap Town with Ronan leading the march.

"Right- now we gotta get ready for tomorrow!" Ronan cheered, turning towards his sister. "Where should we go first, Cinder? I think we should stop by Shelby and Thatcher's shop for some oran berries-"

As Ronan and Cinder excitedly planned their haul, Nona was able to make some semblance of peace with Crasher's appearance- at least for now. After all, Ronan's cheer was infectious. It was hard to feel sad when you had a little grinning Cubone pulling you around town square.

The trio wandered the streets from afternoon to evening, stopping by general stores, berry stands, wonder orb parlors, and even stopping at a bakery to buy bread for that night's dinner. By the time they had finished, the bright blue sky was aglow with an orange sunset. Before nightfall, the group had made it back through the marsh and were getting ready to sleep and prepare themselves for the coming test.

Cinder set pieces of toast down on each of the three plates at the dinner table. Ronan clapped his hands and reached for a jar of plum-colored jam in the center of the table, spreading a healthy helping on his toast with his claw.

"So- now that we're on a team together- isn't there something we're forgetting?" Ronan said, taking a bite out of his food.

Nona exchanged a glance with Cinder.

". . . A team name! We need a team name if we're gonna start working at the guild. Now, I have a few ideas. What about. . . Team Two-Legs!"

"But. . . Ronan, Nona has four." Cinder stifled a laugh.

"What about our fight yesterday? It's what brought us together. We could pick a name based on that." Nona spoke up between bites of toast.

Cinder tensed. "I-. . . I don't know. Do we really want to remember that?"

"I think it's a great idea!" Ronan interrupted, "there are so many cool names we could pick- like Team Trip-up, since we beat that big snowball by tripping him!"

"Uh, maybe something like Giantslayers? Or maybe Team Titan?" Cinder eased up a bit seeing her brother's enthusiasm and started to join in on the brainstorm.

As the two siblings shared ideas, Nona sat in quiet contemplation, staring at her golden brown slice of toast. What was the one thing that she felt when Cinder and Ronan came to her rescue? Behind the fear and adrenaline, what kept her going? . . . The more she thought about it- the more she realized that she didn't really have any reason to trust these pokemon, especially not after the treachery of Team Eviscerate. Really- all she had was her faith. Faith that these two meant to help and not to hurt, faith that whatever instinct that caused her to charge at the Abomasnow was right to guide her to do so, faith in herself that she could survive the cold and rescue her new friends.

"Team Faith. . ." Nona whispered. She looked up and met the eyes of the other two pokemon. Things were silent for a few moments, and Nona wasn't sure what they really felt about the idea.

Ronan was the first to speak up. "Eureka- That's a good one! Cinder, whaddya think?"

"I like that! It's sweet, but still strong- just like us!" Cinder giggled, flapping her paws up and down in excitement.

Nona felt a smile spread across her face as she caught herself bouncing a bit in her chair. Team Faith sounded even better out loud.

"Team Faith! On our way to save the day!" Ronan shoved the last of his toast in his mouth and jumped off his chair, wrapping a blanket around his shoulders as he did and running around the living room excitedly.

Cinder chased after him, her face blushing pink with laughter and joy. For the first time, Nona really felt excited to be on an Exploration Team. Whatever being in a team entailed, whether it be delivering apples or 'saving the day' as Ronan put it, she would be willing to face it if her new friends were by her side.

Sliding off of her seat, Nona crawled over to where she had slept the night before and buried herself in the blankets, the sounds of her new teammates' laughter lulling her to sleep.


End file.
